Panthers hit new bottom vs. Saints, thoughts on abysmal season-opening loss

The Carolina Panthers were handed a big loss to open up the 2024 season.

Stephen Lew-Imagn Images

After the 2023 season, you would have thought things couldn't possibly get worse, right? Well, the Carolina Panthers found a way to lower the bar in Sunday's season-opening loss to the New Orleans Saints, getting pummeled by a 47-10 score.

Here are a few of my initial thoughts after watching that eyesore of a game.

Bryce Young's miserable day

Young made a bad decision on his first throw of the day which resulted in an interception by Will Harris. On the opening drive of the second half, Young tried to push one downfield to Adam Thielen on 3rd and long and overshot him, gifting the Saints another interception. He overthrew more than a handful of passes, some of which he threw off balance. It's still way too early to start talking about the 2025 NFL Draft, but if this continues deep into the season, you'll start to hear rumblings about who the Panthers should take at quarterback next spring. Sigh.

Massive holes on defense

The Saints did whatever they wanted offensively. If they wanted to take a shot deep, they did. If they wanted to run it between the tackles, they did. Bounce a run to the outside? Sure, why not? The Panthers had absolutely no answers against the run or pass. In the first half alone, Derek Carr completed 12-of-16 passes for 121 yards and three touchdowns. This is the same guy who was getting booed by his own fans at certain points a year ago.

Worst game since 2020?

I began covering this team in 2020 which means I've witnessed a lot of losing and a lot of really bad football. Today's game, though, may have been the worst I've covered. They looked overwhelmed, skittish, and unclear of what to do. They were thoroughly whipped in all three phases of the game right from the jump. There's no telling as to whether or not this is an indicator of what's to come, but since this is all we have to go by at the moment, it has the feeling of another long, long year in the Queen City.

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